Chickens destroying my yard

[ameliadanielle]

My neighbor across the street has a backyard that is .33 acres. If he had 65 chickens in his backyard, he'd be standing on dirt.

...I'd love to see 65 chickens on 1/3 of an acre for a year, and there being any grass.

I'll get pictures. The only place that is dirt is around where the food is. The rest of the yard? Apparently my chickens are LAZY.

 

[ameliadanielle]

Right now there are 41 chickens, 5 muscovies and 6 muscovy babies, and 10 ducks. I actually sold 11 chickens and 1 duck last month. The only bare spots are around the back door where the deck used to be. I throw scratch there to get them out from under my feet when I feed in the morning, and the other bare patch is around the little shelter the dog hangs out under. Everywhere else... jungle. It hasn't even been 2 weeks and the yard looks horrible.

We also have 2 free range rabbits living in the backyard. We don't feed them. They feed themselves. We haven't used the weed eater in a while because it is electric and that turns into a pain to get all the way out in the yard while plugged in.

I need a goat.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Wow...that looks awesome. You can see areas where the flock likes to work the ground. But over all...great condition.

How do handle your ducks?

My ducks found every sprinkler head and every low spot in the yard and proceeded to turn those areas into mud puddles and swamps.

I finally called a lady in Milliken and she came and took the ducks. That spring those two ducks had 22 ducklings.

 

[ameliadanielle]

I actually have a big mud puddle in the yard from when we raised pigs a while back. They made a teeny pond next to the pool I had for them. My ducks use that mud puddle and a kiddie pool. They don't even fly up and get in our pool. That's too much like work. Lol.

A lot of the brown places are where we have had pens sitting. I have 4 pens, so I can separate roosters if fighting kicks off. I have 4 adult roosters and some young 6 month olds. Right now they are OK free ranging. I hate keeping them in pens. But if I must pen anyone up we move the pens around to fresh grass when the grass in the pen is gone or dead. So a lot of the brown places in the yard are where the pens were and the grass hasn't grown back yet.

The climate here works in my favor too. Honestly we could probably cut the grass twice a week. Living in the south in a humid swamp... it's been raining at least 3 or 4 days a week here lately. The grass grows like crazy. I know my chickens are eating it. Because they eat much much less food starting in spring when the grass turns green and they start eating much more in the winter when the bugs and grass are dead. I don't know. They must be lazy. Lol. My muscovies don't even fly out of the yard anymore.

 

[ameliadanielle]

Also we had a storm last night so all the pool toys have been blown all over the yard. Lol. I've got to wash them and put them back up.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

but then your chickens would be standing on wire all day, very hard on their feet.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I've read that if your tractor has a hardware cloth floor and it's raised a little above the grass, they'll only be able to eat the grass tips. Good news is you won't have to mow.

That is correct but as a special added attraction, with a permanent Hardware Cloth floor in your coop you should also expect every chicken in your flock to be crippled by bumble foot.

Hens would do 10 times better if you kept them on a welded wire floor like most caged layers live on.

Hens are not as attracted to grass as they are keen to kill and eat all the wee creepy crawly things found living in your yard.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I agree. My chickens free range all day and eat very little grass or weeds. Making then live on wire is cruel!

 

[BruceAZ]

block of the areas you don't want them to go into

if not you will see manure on concrete and well.. garden wise..

this was my garden a few months ago.. and this is my garden now..

they will not eat basils though

eat and dig and then poop all over.. so make sure you block of the areas you don't want them to go into

 

[JayJo]

That is correct but as a special added attraction, with a permanent Hardware Cloth floor in your coop you should also expect every chicken in your flock to be crippled by bumble foot.

Hens would do 10 times better if you kept them on a welded wire floor like most caged layers live on.

Hens are not as attracted to grass as they are keen to kill and eat all the wee creepy crawly things found living in your yard.

What's the difference between welded wire and hardware cloth? I always thought they were the same thing.